Did anyone else watch this? I quite enjoyed it. Whilst oozing on Radio 4 at the weekend, sentient jowl that is Mark Lawson suggested that the "Sweeney bits" were way too Sweeney, with the coppers being excessively violent/sexist/smokey. I say bollox, you tart. Apart from the slomo leaping over a table moment, I thought the Sweeney bits were excellent, with some great Reganesquie dialogue: "Lots of Gob" etc.
Nice twist at the end, good collars from the old bill and the wardrobe department and enough what's-going-to-be-the-truth-behind-it?ness: Coma/dead/madder etc. to succeed where Lost failed, IMHO.
Lots of holes, lots of fun. I think I'll watch it. Any thoughts?
[ 10.01.2006, 09:28: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
I missed it but I am downloading the show from somewhere to pass judgement for your thread later..
I passed it up to watch Balderdash and Piffle, which isn't frankly any good, so I regret it.
[ 10.01.2006, 09:24: Message edited by: Darryn.R ]
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Yes, I started watching B and P but couldn't handle the Hislop.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
We've been having trouble since last week when they claimed that "Poppycock" was from the old Dutch saying "Poppe Kak" meaning "Doll Shit".
Femke's searched the Dutch archives and there's no sign of 'poppe kak' ever being used as a Dutch saying, however there is 'pappe kak' which means 'soft porridge like shit' which makes more sense as a source for the word.
PAH.
Though the word poppe kak might well be Afrikaans
I forced myself to watch it again, but I've started to hate the female presenter.
[ 10.01.2006, 09:36: Message edited by: Darryn.R ]
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
I assume this was on at the same time as Celebrity Big Brother and Football Match, then.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
yes
But I will watch it in a bit.
Posted by Vanilla Online Persona (Member # 301) on :
You silly fouls missed a cracker on Sky - I can make you THIN with the lovely Paulie McK. Not a elderly, shit-sniffing anorexiod in sight and no fat piers to put you off your chips.
Despite this it turned out to be rather good. I suspect its going to turn into the X-Factor for obesees and I applaud its moral stance. If someone is a bit lardy it is not their fault, they are neither a thicky nor a genetically mutated margarine tub. Their parents however, probably were. The fuckers.
[ 10.01.2006, 10:19: Message edited by: Vanilla Online Persona ]
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
I already made my excuses for not watching Life On Mars yet here, and I do intend to watch it because I can never resist a bit of that time travel mumbo jumbo. [complete tangent] I saw a truck drive past outside the office today with Time Shuttle written on the side. No doubt carrying something very dull, but I wish I'd put my thumb out anyway. One never knows.
[back to reality for a moment] ... so, yes, I want to see Life On Mars and the fact that jonesy has started a thread on it as well as all the good reviews I read over the weekend is buffeting my interest like a worm hole being sucked into a black hole, asshole first.
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by Darryn.R: We've been having trouble since last week when they claimed that "Poppycock" was from the old Dutch saying "Poppe Kak" meaning "Doll Shit".
One of the websites I'm working on at the moment is in Dutch and I must say that any language in which a bland English phrase like "Add to shopping basket" translates as "In winkelwagen leggen", and the even blander "Office cleaning" is "Netheid van de ruimten", deserves to be the source of as many sayings as it likes.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
"Add to shopping basket" is "In winkelmandje leggen" as winkelwagen is shopping trolley not basket.
Also, "Netheid van de ruimten" bothers me, it means "Cleanliness of the spaces" maybe it should be "Netheid van de ruimte" which means "Cleanliness of the space". Neither mention that it's office specific though, so I'd tend to lean towards "Netheid van de kantoor ruimte/ruimten".
That said, 'netheid' means 'cleanliness', 'cleaning' is 'schoonmaken'.
[ 10.01.2006, 11:18: Message edited by: Darryn.R ]
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by dang65: I saw a truck drive past outside the office today with Time Shuttle written on the side.
Now I'm really intrigued. Maybe time travel actually is possible if you just hit someone hard enough.
[ 10.01.2006, 11:19: Message edited by: dang65 ]
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by Darryn.R: "Add to shopping basket" is "In winkelmandje leggen" as winkelwagen is shopping trolley not basket.
Also, "Netheid van de ruimten" bothers me
Ah, sorry, maybe it's Flemish. It's a Belgian site but language is set as "NL" in the database, as opposed to their other Belgian site which is "FR" of course.
ETA: And I got "Office cleaning" from the equivalent French tag which says, "Propretι des locaux" which is something like "cleanliness of premises" but I think it refers to office cleaning products.
I do a lot of improvising when it comes to languages, which is probably why I get so many blank looks come to think of it.
[ 10.01.2006, 11:26: Message edited by: dang65 ]
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
Either language wagen is trolley and mandje is basket..
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by Darryn.R: Either language wagen is trolley and mandje is basket..
Now you mention it, there is a little icon of a trolley rather than the more traditional basket. Maybe they're trying to get the punters to subconsciously buy more by thinking they have a big winkelwagen to fill up. The sneaky Belgians.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
It wouldn't surprise me at all Posted by LowLevel (Member # 30) on :
quote:Originally posted by dang65: Maybe time travel actually is possible if you just hit someone hard enough.
Have you never heard the phrase..
I'll knock you into the Middle of Next Week?
QED I believe Mein Freund
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by LowLevel:
quote:Originally posted by dang65: Maybe time travel actually is possible if you just hit someone hard enough.
Have you never heard the phrase..
I'll knock you into the Middle of Next Week?
QED I believe Mein Freund
No. I'll take it back to my own time and teach it to the people there. Maybe it will catch on.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
Watched two episodes of this now and though the 2nd was a little lighter in tone, veering unhealthily towards slapstick at times, it is some of the best telly I've seen this decade.
I'd like to talk about it, but everyone else has probably seen more episodes than me.
My own thoughts about some trauma or significant event when Tyler was 4, in 1973 -- the big silver-buckled shoes, the forest, the shrieking girl in the red coat -- are probably now really obvious or redundant.
Ironically I wrote a whole novel proposal based on this precise idea, except that the protagonist in a coma (after a tube train terrorist attack -- this was written in '02) was sent back to a privatised police force in the mid 80s. And that it wasn't quite as clever.
Posted by Black Mask (Member # 185) on :
quote:Originally posted by kovacs:
My own thoughts about some trauma or significant event when Tyler was 4, in 1973 -- the big silver-buckled shoes, the forest, the shrieking girl in the red coat -- are probably now really obvious or redundant.
Not at all. They're being very shrewd about unravelling that hinted at backstory. I'm assuming there'll be a satisfyingly intriguing, generation-spanning, explanation-defying solution to the serial killings of the first episode. A clue Tyler glimpsed as a child. A remark overheard at a bus stop. A postcard in his mum's handbag. The scent of his boozy uncle Alan's cardigan.
This really is superior telly. The slapstick is actually endearing, the pop-culture references deftly handled and (apart from this week's hitch-free prosecution of the crimelord) each episode works on its own.
That bloke looked fuck all like Marc Bolan, though.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
See also The Singing Detective, Iain Banks' The Bridge.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
Last episode I spied 2 shirts I actually own, a pair of purple and yellow underpants I also own and a number of pictures I too have in my possession.
I think my love of the 70's may be a little OTT.
I'm really enjoying the show, though I've yet to watch episode one (which I have on my HD) it's the first BBC1 series I've watched in about 5 years or so, well done the Beeb.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
They should bring out a soundtrack album soon. That use of the title song was magnificent -- from faint in-car-CD to the coinciding huge pay-off reveal and gigantic chorus when the camera's soaring around Tyler and he stares, gobsmacked, around his new environment.
Posted by Boy Racer (Member # 498) on :
Despite a good deal of skep on my part I've been thoroughly impressed and entertained by this.
Agreeing with Kovacs about the use of the Bowie in the opening episode, practically sent shivers down my spine.
I thought of The Bridge also, and Marabou Stork Nightmares.
Posted by Boy Racer (Member # 498) on :
Just to check though, does anyone else think that John Simm looks a bit like a tortoise?
Posted by Vogon Poetess (Member # 164) on :
I didn't bother with this, as I assumed it would rely fairly heavily on the audience enjoying reminiscing about 70s life, and as I wasn't really alive then, I get the impression a lot of jokes/nuances would be lost on me.
Is this correct?
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
No, I think it works well even if you're not a seventies buff, there's obviously the odd 'in joke' but for the most part it's a decent crime drama with a new(ish) sci fi twist.
Sci Fi is so the new black.
In other news I quite enjoyed SURFACE which seems to be full of Godzooky style creatures eating dogs.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
I don't remember anything much about 1973, either... the jokes are more about TV cop shows from the 1970s, and discovering (with the main character) just how alien (ie. Martian) was the world of 33 years ago.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
3 episodes in, and this show has barely put a toe wrong for me yet. Even more keen for a soundtrack album now, or just a track list.
Posted by Black Mask (Member # 185) on :
That's spacedust, thanks.
Posted by Waynster (Member # 56) on :
Having not seen this but having perused what they are using for the soundtrack, I am mightily tempted to tune in next week now.
Posted by Stefanos (Member # 53) on :
I've been posting my Deep Thoughts and Close Analysis here -- OK if I paste in my Barbechat here, or shall I just link to it? I've just spent 15 mins doing a shot by shot account of his frigging LSD trip...
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
NB. anyone got these? I think I would pay for a disc of the Mars OST.
Brainstorm by Hawkwind Jean Genie by David Bowie Cross Eyed Mary by Jethro Tull Silver Machine by Hawkwind Gudbuy T'Jane by Slade Wild Horse by The Rolling Stones Blockbuster by The Sweet* Ballroom Blitz by The Sweet Gypsy by Uriah Heep Wishing Well by Free Head In The Sky by Atomic Rooster Live And Let Die by Wings No One Came by Deep Purple Drum Song by Willie Lindo & The Charmers Band* Saga Of The Aging Orphan by Thin Lizzy Lazy by Deep Purple One Of These Days by Pink Floyd Dream Land by The Upsetters Life On Mars by David Bowie Stairway To The Stars by Blue Oyster Cult I'm So Free by Lou Reed Baba O'Riley by The Who Rat Rat Blue by Deep Purple Fireball by Deep Purple White Room by Cream
Posted by Waynster (Member # 56) on :
I can certainly help with the Floyd, Zeppelin, Hawkwind, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple and can probably sort the Bowie as well. The Who I can do, possibly the Lou Reed, Atomic Rooster, Free and BOC I will have to check some of my more obscure Metal Collections which have yet to make it to the Hard Drive.
Posted by Waynster (Member # 56) on :
And I can do the Stones, Probably Uriah Heap and Cream.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
Maybe you should put together a compilation and sell them off the TMO front page. The BBC isn't going to do it.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
Make sure you don't miss my spotting an amazing "continuity-goof" in this week's episode, just because I posted it on Barbelith.
Posted by H1ppychick (Member # 529) on :
Best lines tonight:
Sam: I'm the negotiator. Gene: I'll make you a hat.
- otherwise a bit weaker than previous episodes, I thought. Nice to see the return of Lee-from-Press-Gang as swaggering Lytton, though - it felt a bit like the news crew rumble from Ron Burgundy.
edit: too many tho's
[ 13.02.2006, 19:15: Message edited by: H1ppychick ]
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
Yeah, I think it's stretching a bit now. It was pretty great as a hostage drama, but the time-travel twist is either being played down, (no anachronism jokes this week -- though again, Sam is using terms they shouldn't recognise, like "gutted") or is becoming too familiar (you know the Singing Detective style flashback of silver buckles will come in at some point.)
Posted by H1ppychick (Member # 529) on :
Yes, I agree with you, I've felt that they've paid less attention to the anachronistic word usage as the programme has gone on. For example, I remember Gene calling Sam a brainiac a few weeks ago, and there is no way in hell that term was in common currency in 1973. There was some obvious stuff last night in terms of the hostage negotiation process but they don't seem to pay as much attention to getting the day to day language right.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
I thought it just ran out of steam last night. The hostage situation was milked down to a wrinkly, empty, grey condom of a boob (a bit like this, see) which just dried up and died. I was actually, to coin 1970s terminology, gutted.
Tony Jordan said it was conceived as "CSI meets the Sweeney". I understand what he's getting at but, well, the John Simms character just doesn't feel that hi-tech in his methods. Granted he doesn't have access to a spectalmacogrophiser or lots of test tubes, pretty lab assistants and haunting electronic melodies (He does have The Who, though) but his mad CSI skillz seem to be based on saying "Don't beat the witness to death before he tells us the name of the murderer, science tells me it's better to get the name first."
Maybe the first few episodes have led me to expect too much from Life on Mars. It's just a bit of harmless fun, after all.
[ 14.02.2006, 05:34: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
I agree with both of you. The double-edged problem is that Sam Tyler has acclimatised (part of the fascination in episode 1 was how this guy copes with being in 1973 all of a sudden... now he's got mates, a local, a potential girlfriend) but still acts like a man out of time (staring off into space for flashbacks or mysterious bleeping, shouting at invisible doctors, using 21st century slang).
So on the one hand, there's no real culture clash anymore. Gene and Sam's methods aren't that different: Sam tries the softly-softly approach, Gene steams in, but that's partly just down to character, not period, and the programme is deliberately bringing them towards a common ground, as part of their bonding (Sam instructs Gene to punch the hostage-taker in the face / Gene comes out with some official-sounding double-chat for the journalists). While their building friendship is the show's emotional centre, it was more interesting when they were at odds.
On the other hand, we've got this "am I in a coma" enigma that's becoming very, very samey and forumulaic.
Someone on Barbelith suggested I was asking a pleasant high-concept cop show to be Twin Peaks -- I think the early episodes led me to believe this would be doing something a bit different.
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by H1ppychick: For example, I remember Gene calling Sam a brainiac a few weeks ago, and there is no way in hell that term was in common currency in 1973.
No, I guess it would have been quite dated by as late as 1973.
url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainiac_%28comics%29
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
They wouldn't have known what Sam meant by "bling", though.
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
I remember flicking through Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's The Meaning Of Liff when it came out and thinking it was shite. I just stumbled across a few of their words here and they are now funny. Or my standards have plummeted. Hmm, wonder which.
ahenny - "The way people stand when examining other people's bookshelves."
adrigole - "The centerpiece of a merry-go-round on which the man with the tickets stands unnervingly still."
aigburth - "Any piece of readily identifiable anatomy found amongst cooked meat."
etc.
In most case these are things which actually really do need words to describe them, so it's quite a valuable book. Except that no one's likely to actually learn the words in the first place.
Posted by herbs (Member # 101) on :
I love love love the Meaning of Liff, and have the sort of geeky memory that remembers the words, and the definitions precisely as written. Imagine the joy of long journeys as I chortle 'Kettering: the marks left on your bottom or thighs after sunbathing on a wickerworkchair. *snicker*'. They just fly by.
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
There is one I always remember, mainly because I need to use it so much:
ely - The first, tiniest inkling that something, somewhere, has gone terribly wrong.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
Skipwith - To bunnyhop down the stairs mid poo with your trousers and pants around your ankles to answer the phone when there is nobody else in the house.
Tunnyhop - A swift about turn mid Skipwith when you come to the sudden realization that there is in fact someone else in the house
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Cleftsnip: the involuntary spasm of the anus mid skipwith - just prior to a messy tunnyhop - when you come to the sudden realization that there is in fact someone else in the house
Posted by London (Member # 29) on :
Abeline - the pleasing coolness on the other side of the pillow.
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
Gronnychapel - the expression on the face of the other person in the house as they discover you mid-skipwith just as a cleftsnip takes hold and propels you into a particularly violent tunnyhop.
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
I think that situation is covered now.
Posted by not... (Member # 25) on :
Lucasize - The act of adding new canonical material to an existing body of work that detracts significantly from the original material. Examples include the new Star Wars movies and the Shadow Moon books (continuations of the movie Willow).
Posted by not... (Member # 25) on :
ah cool
ninjular - 1. To be agile, like a ninja. 2. To have ninja-like movements.
Posted by not... (Member # 25) on :
lol Jake - To attempt to open a car door from the outside at the very moment someone is unlocking it from the inside, resulting in a still-locked door. Example: "You're too anxious to get into the car, John. You just jaked the handle."
Posted by dang65 (Member # 102) on :
quote:Originally posted by not...: lol Jake - To attempt to open a car door from the outside at the very moment someone is unlocking it from the inside, resulting in a still-locked door. Example: "You're too anxious to get into the car, John. You just jaked the handle."
My kids do that all the time. I'm thinking of rigging up some sort of anti-jakeing device, perhaps involving a high voltage of electricity. Enough to cause a semi-cleftsnip and require a ninjular evasion response.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
quote:Originally posted by not...: the Shadow Moon books (continuations of the movie Willow).
How can you detract significantly from Willow?
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Hey come on now, Willow's a great film: all those midgets running around; the look on her little face when Willow's hideous dwarf bride realises her husband has returned; And all those little people, running around; Val Kilmer looking like you just know he was the biggest cnut ever ever ever as soon as the cameras stopped rolling; And those little folk running around with their little legs. And the midget guys. Hilarious.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
By the way Jones, they're taking me to moderator's court on Barbelith because I pasted in your comments about Life on Mars without asking. Sorry, man. It'll be the phantom zone for me, I expect.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Did you copy and post them before I edited them?
[ 14.02.2006, 12:58: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
Don't think I read them before you edited them Anyway, I have said over there that they can delete my post if necessary... my aim was just to keep my toe in their discussions of the programme, but not type out my views on last night's episode twice, and to put my comments in the context of our discussion here. So, sorry if I was out of order to quote you.
NB I wasn't just pasting your comments -- I was pasting mine, but with yours and Hippychick's on either side so mine made sense.
[ 14.02.2006, 13:03: Message edited by: kovacs ]
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
No, no you weren't out of order for posting the comments in. I've just read the Barbelith thread and you quoted my post after I edited it. So no worries.
[ 14.02.2006, 13:43: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
I would understand if you wanted to take it to THE POLICY, Jonesy. Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
I don't know what the POLICY is. The stuff I edited out was probably not something I should have put on the internet in the first place. I changed it pretty quickly but I was just worried it had found its way to Barbelith before I edited.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
It's like the forum for the Barbelith moderators... where they discuss people who did wrong. I think we should have one too, for occasions like this Posted by Roy (Member # 705) on :
I don't know what the policy is, but it sounds like a damn fine idea*
*Just in case they're watching. Application pending, you know
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
quote:Originally posted by kovacs: By the way Jones, they're taking me to moderator's court on Barbelith because I pasted in your comments about Life on Mars without asking. Sorry, man. It'll be the phantom zone for me, I expect.
What ya rebellin' against, Kovacs?
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
I know what you're doing there.
Posted by Benny the Ball (Member # 694) on :
Kovacs, you're supposed to answer "what have you got?" - jeez!
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
Tt.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Is that a 'Tut', Genesh, or are you channeling Words and Pictures?
[ 15.02.2006, 07:11: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by LowLevel (Member # 30) on :
Was that the one with the floaty guy who looked like a red golfball typewriter?
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
He's doing an Alan Moore style "tut" from Big Numbers.
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
Kovacs half-hearted rebellion is rendering me semi-tutless.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
quote:Originally posted by LowLevel: [QB] Was that the one with the floaty guy who looked like a red golfball typewriter? [/B]
No, that was Look and Read, golf ball typwriter was Wordy. Words and Pictures: Charlie, Magic Pencil writing "T..tee...t...tuh"
Posted by Ringo (Member # 47) on :
Magic, magic E Posted by Thorn Davis (Member # 65) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ringo: Magic, magic E
LOL! I get it! because 'E' is like another name for Ecstasy, and when the kids programme says 'magic E' it's like they're endorsing ecstasy, which isn't the normal sort of behaviour that you'd expect from an educational broadcast, lol that's brilliant that is, even if the fact that it's in a spelling programme sort of anchors it to something completely different, it still works if you sort of shut your eyes and totally shut down your brain, and also as long as you think of 'E' as magic, rather than chemicals, and if you're a twat.
Posted by MiscellaneousFiles (Member # 60) on :
I'm angry with Sesame Street at the moment. I've got one of their counting songs stuck in my head again. This happens at least once a month and has done since I last saw the programme in question, which I believe was in about 1985.
Does anyone else remember the animation of a pinball rolling around a table, triggering various numbers? The music was cheesy and the lyrics were overenthusiasticaly sung:
Perhaps I should seek medical advice.
Posted by Ringo (Member # 47) on :
I was making a social commentry on how people are increasingly dependant on the internet for an alarming number of functions.
Clearly it is you who is the twat.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Is the Kovacs Half-Hearted Rebellion just him moaning Here about posting some stuff from Here There or is there more to it than that?
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
quote:Originally posted by jonesy999: Is the Kovacs Half-Hearted Rebellion just him moaning Here about posting some stuff from Here There or is there more to it than that?
I think that's pretty much it. I don't even think it's got as far as the headmaster's office.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
I've been reading some of the Barbelith threads, Ganesh. I've never really looked at the place before - partly because I get the impression that the community takes itself a little too seriously but mostly because I waste enough of my time on the internet without finding yet another distraction. Anyway, I digress.
One of the threads I read proposed the idea that Barbelith is 'pro-queer' to the extent of being 'anti-hetero'. You clearly lurk around TMO a fair bit and I was wondering how you feel TMO (small community that it is) compares with Barbelith in terms of our attitude towards the gay community.
[ 15.02.2006, 09:10: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
By the by, Ganesh, we have not always seen eye to eye but I certainly agreed with you in your ruthless unpacking of that fellow's "gay 'jokes'" about Saturn being a queer planet because of its many colourful, cosmically-transvestite rings.
Posted by Roy (Member # 705) on :
Jonesy, you can be a right fudge-packer sometimes.
[ 15.02.2006, 09:34: Message edited by: Roy ]
Posted by MiscellaneousFiles (Member # 60) on :
Hey Ganesh - please don't think that TMO is homophobic because of posts like this:
quote:Originally posted by Roy: Joensy, you can be a right fudge-packer sometimes.
Roy's allowed to make these comments because he is a gay. A gay ninja, in fact.
[ 15.02.2006, 09:33: Message edited by: MiscellaneousFiles ]
Posted by Roy (Member # 705) on :
I do it stealthily Posted by ralph (Member # 773) on :
quote:Originally posted by Roy: I do it stealthily
What? The gay thing? Don't kid yourself, Roy.
Posted by MiscellaneousFiles (Member # 60) on :
How do you feel about hitting the big 1,000, ralph? Hope you're going to make it a post to remember.
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
I bet he spunks it too quickly and leaves us feeling unfulfilled
Posted by Roy (Member # 705) on :
As long as he makes a decent fist of it.
Posted by MiscellaneousFiles (Member # 60) on :
No pressure, ralph.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
I think a new thread on whether TMO is "pro-str8" (and, I don't know what, a less than comfortable environment for anyone who isn't straight? in contrast to Barbelith?) would be quite interesting.
Posted by Roy (Member # 705) on :
Start it. It's a good 'un.
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
Might do so later this evening. After some cock.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
Lol.
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
quote:Originally posted by kovacs: By the by, Ganesh, we have not always seen eye to eye but I certainly agreed with you in your ruthless unpacking of that fellow's "gay 'jokes'" about Saturn being a queer planet because of its many colourful, cosmically-transvestite rings.
I think it was primarily the weakness of the 'jokes' that bothered me. They weren't so much homophobic as just piss-poor unfunny - offensively unfunny.
Posted by kovacs (Member # 28) on :
It's an interesting idea though -- whether, say, a racist joke can be redeemed because it's funny, and is worse if it's not funny, or whether it couldn't be funny because it's based on a racist premise. Think I tried to start a discussion here about that a while back, and flopped.
Posted by Dr. Benway (Member # 20) on :
I'd love to be able to comment on this, but I feel like I can't. I think that TMO is a place where ideas can be taken as free floating concepts, in the sense that any ideological ties are secondary to the freedom of the imagination. This is why nobody gets banned - because it's a creative space, and creativity is necessarily anarchic (because it asks rather than tells). It's lovely to be able to politicise things, to be able to apply formula and theory to social phenomena, but for me, it's missing the point. Maybe as a white, straight, middle class man, my viewpoint is worthless. I'm tempted to believe so.
I don't see cultural refinement as a kind of personal improvement, nor do I see reasoning or argument skillz as a way of proving one's worth. You may as well compare hairstyles. I detest the way in which people value other people based on their thoughts or their expression, which is why I hate barbelith, or any other institution that 'rates'. I think that on TMO there is a kind of snobbishness that pertains to cultural engagement. I don't know how I'm viewed on TMO in terms of culture.. Probably not very highly, because of the kind of thing I'm into. In fact, I'd hope that my interests give me no extra points, because they are purely that - my interests. I seriously dislike the kind of holier than thou attitude that seems to prevail, because such an attitude is essentially stifling to freedom of thought. I remember arguing against ben on this many years ago when he talked about the baying masses going to the multiplex.. It's appalling.
I'm not arguing against the importance of knowledge or imagination. I'm arguing for a space where middle class knowledge rivalry isn't the most important thing. I'd like to think that I'm in some way valued as a contributer because I'm honest, and I've got ideas that I want to be exploded, torn apart, and questioned. That's what I'm here for. I know that this is drunken and pointless posting. But I don't want TMO to get embroiled in arguments over what is and what isn't acceptable - these arguments do not exist in art, and we should all feel free enough to be able to consider our writing as art.S Norton is obviously a damaged a Neo nazi. Thorn is a damaged journalist. Kovacs is a damaged theorist. We're all damaged, and we've all obviously got something to say. Errm. Ah. What I mean is. Don't let Ganesh turn this place into Barbelith. Let anarchy rule, let ideas be God, rather than status, education or profession. We're all here for a reason - we all want our ideas to be heard. Please, let's not judge based on anything other than honesty. I love TMO, and everybody in it, and we need to remember why we're here. Do you really need to be validated? I hope that all we ever want is recognition for the unique viewpoints we bring.
So come on TMO. Tell us. Rather than the classic 'what do you like about TMO', I think we should tell TMO what it should like about us.
Oh Lord, I'm a cock.
[ 15.02.2006, 20:54: Message edited by: Dr. Benway ]
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dr. Benway: Don't let Ganesh turn this place into Barbelith.
Yes, because obviously that is my single abiding goal on this message board. And in life generally.
After cock.
Posted by Dr. Benway (Member # 20) on :
wow I didn't expect you to be here!
I'm not saying that's all you want. I do think that Barbelith is a far stricter environment than TMO, and I'm interested to know why you'd come here, when presumably, chat board utopia has already been attained.
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
Jeez, project much?
I like this board. I like Barbelith too. For different reasons. This is possible.
Posted by Dr. Benway (Member # 20) on :
hey ganesh, fancy a chat?
Posted by Ganesh (Member # 685) on :
'Fraid I'm about to turn in. Sawry.
Posted by Dr. Benway (Member # 20) on :
yeah, you're right. It's too damn late to be fucking about on the net.
Posted by Dr. Benway (Member # 20) on :
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
To be fair, Benway, I travelled to Barbelith, brought a thread idea back with me and then asked Ganesh about it on TMO, so if anyone would be responsible for making steps towards turning TMO into Barbelith, I guess it would be me.
In actual fact that wasn't my intention (though my previous point still stands); I really wanted to see how such a discussion might pan out differently here to the way it did on Barbelith.
I certainly think TMO has more than a whiff of the locker room about it at times, probably more so now than ever before. As our numbers have dwindled, so the balance of heterosexual male posters to female and gay posters seems to have shifted in favour of the former. Perhaps these things are connected.
However, despite the jokes, for the most part, I think anyone posting overtly homophobic views on TMO would quickly be shot down by the vast majority of posters here, as would anyone posting racist, anti-Semitic or pro Ben Elton comments. The difference being, we'd be unlikely to ban them. We'd let them say their piece, in some cases we'd let them say it over and over until they become a laughable figure of fun, we'd argue with them and we'd mock them but in the long run, we'd allow them free speech in order to undermine their viewpoint on the boards.
I was wondering whether that makes TMO a more comfortable environment for a homosexual or a Jew than somewhere like Barbelith, for example, where these people would just be banned. I mean, what would Barbelith do with Herr Norton?
[ 16.02.2006, 05:00: Message edited by: jonesy999 ]
Posted by Darryn.R (Member # 1) on :
There seems to be very little point to TMO taking an overtly pro-gay/anti-gay or pro-straight/anti-straight stance on any issue, simply by taking a pro-whatever stance we'd stunt the 'discussion' and the board would be too biased a place for me to feel comfortable.
I agree that we are going through a period of stagnation, older more regular posters have dropped out of circulation and newbies seem to be either automatically called shit or expected to produce quality prose along the lines of <Fill in quality posters name of choice here>.
We're also suffering from our open discussion policy a little, it's hard for anyone stumbling across the forum to figure out where we are coming from or what to make of us, for the longest while I liked that, it meant that if you wanted to join in you had to put in a bit of time working out what the forum did, how it evolved and the forum tone in general.
I guess in my heart of hearts I yearn back for the days when the internet was a new and exciting place to be, and websites were a fun place to talk and exchange idea, when the online crowd seemed just a little more elite than 31337 or l33t than it is now, and I suppose we need to evolve the forums a little in order to catch up.
Posted by jonesy999 (Member # 5) on :
I think the internet is for fucking about really.
At least, that's why I come here.
Posted by Dr. Benway (Member # 20) on :
sorry i was drunk
Posted by H1ppychick (Member # 529) on :
Don't apologise, I thought what you wrote was completely on the money, although maybe a better place for it would have been as a new thread - which I suggest that you start.
Posted by ben (Member # 13) on :
quote:Originally posted by jonesy999: I mean, what would Barbelith do with Herr Norton?
They'd ban him - because they're a bunch of uptight fucking fascist twats. Posted by not... (Member # 25) on :
membership application rejected eh ben?
Posted by squeegy (Member # 136) on :
quote:Originally posted by ben: They'd ban him - because they're a bunch of uptight fucking fascist twats.
He'd fit right in, surely?
eta ' '
[ 16.02.2006, 06:14: Message edited by: squeegy ]
Posted by Thorn Davis (Member # 65) on :
I reckon Ganesh would 'unpack' his argument, lay it out on the bed, and then get dressed up in it.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
Anyway, I have said over there that they can delete my post if necessary... my aim was just to keep my toe in their discussions of the programme, but not type out my views on last night's episode twice, and to put my comments in the context of our discussion here. So, sorry if I was out of order to quote you.![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I know what you're doing there.
